Soldering machine



June 5, 1923. 1,457,441 v G. A. LEIGHTON f SOLDERING MACHINE v FiledDec. 6 1920 9 Sheets-Sheet l G. A. LEIGHTON SOLDERING MACHINE Filed Dec.6 1920 9 Sheets-Shea?I 2 INVENTO REY 'June 5, 1923. v 1,457,441

G. A. LEGHTON S OLDEHING MACHINE Filed Dec. e, 1920 s sheets-sheet' sATTORNEYS June 5, 1923. `l,f`3.57,4f41 5 G. A. LEIGHTON SOLDERINGMACHINE Filed Dec. 6, 1920 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 [NVE/V TOR.

June 5, 1923. 1,457,441

G.A.LHGHTON S OLDERING MACHINE Filed Dec. 6, 1920 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 .Iun5, 1923.

G. A. LEIGHTON v SOLDERING MACHINE Filed Dec. 6.

1920 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS June 5, 1923. 1,457,441

G. A. LEIGHTON SOLDERING MACHINE Filed Dec. e 1920 9 sheets-sheet v June5, 1923. 1,457,441

G. A. LEIGHTON soLDERING MACHINE Filed Dec. e, 1920 9 sheets-sheet aJNVENTOR.

/ ATTORNEY June 5, 1923. Y 1,457,441

G. A. LEIGHTON S OLDERING MACHINE TTORNE Y Patented June-5, 1253. Y v

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rATNr 4'or-aac GEORGE A. LEIGHTON, OF ROSLINDALE, MASSACHUSETTS,.ASSIGNOR 'NIAMEBICN i CAN COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., Av CORPORATIONOF NEW J.

soLnnnING MACHINE Application led December ,6, 192.0. Serial No.428,598.

soldering machines and has more particular reference to such machinesfor soldering the lips in sardine can covers and the like.

A principal object of the invention is the provision of a machineadapted to perform l5 soldering and attendant operations formerlyperformed by hand. and, generally to overcome the difficulties incidentto hand soldering.

A further object of the invention is the provision of asoldering'machine which is automatic in its action, requires fewattendants and eliminates many hand operators formerly required. yAnother object of the invention is the provision of'a machine of thetype described which is adapted to position the lips to be soldered inthe cover with uniform accuracy and to bend them to the exact shapedesired. Still another object of the invention is the 3o provision ofmeans in suehamachine whereby fiux and solder are fed in the exactquantities and proportions required, thus elfecting a saving of muchsolder necessarily wasted in the hand operation referred to, andimproving the appearance of the package by preventing discoloration fromthe use of an excess of flux.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a machine ofthis type accomplishing these and other objects while at the same tlmebeing of comparatively simple construction and operation and having aminimlun number of delicate or easily damaged parts. v

Another and highly important object of the inventin is the revision ofmeans in a machine of the kindp described whereby its action is arrestedin case of a jam or failure to properly Jfunction.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the mvention will be apparentas it is betten understood from the following de- A' sc ription whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustratme apreferred embodiment thereof.

eferrmg to the drawings:

Figure lis a side elevation of the delivery end of the machine;

F ig. 2 is a side elevation of the receiving end of the machine,forming, with Figure 1, a complete side elevation of the entire machine;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the delivery end ofthe machine viewed fromthe opposite side; V 65 Fig. 4 is a top plan viewl of the delivery endof the machlne;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken substantially on the line 5--5 in Fig.3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6 6 in Fig.3;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view o f a solder feeding mechanism from the sideopposite that shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 8 8 in Fig.3;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section showing the 'completion of the act ofpositioning the lip in the cover; v

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section showing the hammer by which the cover andlip are flattened;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged section showing the means for feeding solderingflux;

F ig. 12 is an enlarged section showing the soldering iron in operativeposition and the solder being applied thereto;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view showing the means whereby the lipis bent; and

Fig. 1-1 is a. perspective of a sardine 'can cover with the key lipsoldered in place and bent to hooked position.

0n the drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of my invention, itwillbe noted that the machine 'is supported upon three pairs of legs 11,12and 13, which are connected and .braced near the bottom by angle irontie rails 14. At the top of these legs,

and forming a support for the operating mechanisms of the machine, aretwo angle iron chain rails 15 and 16. A chain conveyor 17 slides betweenand on the top edge of these rails and over sprockets 18 and 19 betweenthe upper ends of legs 1 1 and 13, the sprocket 18 being idle andmounted on a shaft 21, and the sprocket 19 being driven and mounted on ashaft 22.

The mechanism by which power is transmitted to the machine is shown inFigs. 3 and 4. Fast and loose pulleys 23 and 24 are mounted on a driveshaft 25 which has its bearings in a bracket 26 secured to the underside of rails 15 and 16. Upon the same shaft is a. drive gear 27(Fig. 1) which meshes with and drives an intermediate gear 28, which issecured upon a shaft 29, also mounted in the bracket 26. A gear 31 upona shaft 32, mounted in the end of the bracket 26is driven by theintermediate'gear 28, said shaft 32 also carrying a crank 33 on its end.Movement of this crank imparts, through a connecting rod 34, a rockingmotion to a pawl lever 35 loosely mounted on the shaft v22 and this, bymeans of a pawl 36 and a ratchet 37 fixed on said shaft, causesintermittent movement of the sprocket 19, thus advancing the chainconveyor 17.

I provide automatic means for stopping this action in case of a jam ofthe covers or other accident causing stoppage of the chain conveyor 17.The end of the connecting rod 34, which is attached to the crank 33,comprises a pair of jaws 41, the lower one of which pivots on a fulcrumpin 42 and is held Vin closed position by a spring 43. A crank pin 44has its bearing between the jaws and, in the event mentioned, it willexert pressure against said bearing and will be forced by the rod 34 toenter a pin slot 45, the jaws having been opened by the pressure of thepin 44 and consequent compression, by the lower jaw, of the spring 43.In this manner the action of said rod is terminated and the machinesaved from wreckage or damage.

The conveyor chain 17 is of the roller type and has alternate links 46in which are outwardly extending lugs 47 to which are fastened covercarriers 48. On the upper surface of these carriers is a circularprojection 49 adapted to engage within a bead 51 in the central part ofthe covers 52 (Fig. 9). This, with end lugs 53, holds the covers inplace on the carriers. The carriers have an anvil part 54 immediatelybeneath the joint between the covers 52 and key lips 55. The covers 52,as may be seen in Fig. 14, have, near one end and at the`point of ascored section 56, a slit 57 through which the lip 55 is inserted andbrought approximately into position by hand. The covers are then placedbetween the lugs 53 on the chain conveyor 17 at the receiving end of themachine.

Lawaai Movement of said conveyor brings the covers beneath a centerguide59 and they are held in position on the carriers under spring tension bya movable guide gib 58 slidably secured to said guide.

The first mechanical operation consists in accurately positioning thekey lips 55, as may be readily seen 1n Fig. 9, dotted lines being usedto show clearance positions. An assembling lever 6l has a contactplate-62 in its lower part, said plate being secured by retaining pins63 and being movable within the limits of a slot 64, a spring 65 servingto keep it at its lowest point and in yielding contact with the cover 52while it is positioning the lip 55. The desired movement is given tothis lever 61 from a rocker shaft 65 through a lever 66 having anadjustable connection 67 with the upper part of said lever 61, thelatter being fulcrumed on a stud 68 secured in a slot on an assemblybracket 69. The rocker shaft 65 has a bearstud 68 secured 'in a slot onan assembler bracket and another bearing 72 at the other end in a folderbracket 73, and is operated by a cam lever 74 secured thereto,lsaidlever being oscillated by a cam groove in a cam member 75 carried on theshaft 32. This accomplishes the movement of .assembling lever 61,indicated in Fig. 9.

The next action is 'the iattening of the covers and lips togetherpreparatory to soldering, and the means whereby this is done may be seenin Figs. 5 and 10. A. hammer 76 is fulcrumed on a stud 77 in the bracket69, which extends upwardly on either side of the chain rails 15 and 16.An operating connection 78 has a pivotal connection at 79 with thehammer 76 and is held in a bearing 81 protruding from the bracket 69.The hammer is normally held in raised position, as in Fig. 5 and asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 10. It has a block portion 82 and isoperated by a lever 83 fulcrumed at 84 in a bracket 85 depending fromthe chain rails 15 and 16. This lever has one end moved on a cam 86integral with a cam member 80 on the shaft 32 and is actuated thereby,the other end being attached to the operating connection 78 which ismoved upwardly by the lever to raise the hammer after a blow. A spring87 is held on the connection 78, between a nut 88 and the bearing 8l andis thus compressed and, when pressure of the lever 83 is released,causes the hammer to strike a quick blow. Immediately thereafter thehammer is slightly raised to clear the cover by a lifter arm 89 which iscarried on shaft 65 and contacts with an extension 91 at the free end ofthe hammer. The blows are repeated periodically as the covers arebrought into position to receive them.

The next operation is the deposit of soldering dux on the joint betweenthe cover conveyor.

and the lip. A si ht feed dri cup 92 is mounted at the hi est. pointethe assembler bracket 69 and feeds flux, according to its adjustment,throu h a small tube 93 to a flmnel 94 adjustab y attached to an arm 95carried on the shaft 65 (Fig. 11). Within this funnel is a piece of felt96 held. in place by a gib 97 and projecting beneath the funnelimmediately over the cover and lip joint. This absorbs the flux as it isdropped from the tube 93.and acts as a sponge being slightly squeezedand depositing'the desired amount of flux on said joint when the arm 95is operated by the rocker shaft 65, it being' raised in time to clearthe cover before the next advancing movement of the The means by whichthe solder is applied will now be described. A A bracket 98 Fig'. 6) isattached to the under side .of rai s 15 and 16 and serves as a supportfor the soldering members. An arm v99 is fulcrumed on a stud 101, onwhich is also mounted a swivel 102 giving universal motion to said"varm. A combustion chamber 103 (Fig. 12)

is secured to the free` end of the arm 99 and gas and air are fedthereto through a pipe 104attached to said arm. A soldering lron 105forms one wall'of this chamber and is heated by an impinging flametherein. It contacts with the cover 52 at its joint with the lip 55 whenthe conveyor A17 is stationary and applies solder'supplied in a mannerto be presently described.

The arm 9911s oscillated horizontallyv within adjusted limits byarocking lever 106 fulcrumed/ on a pin 107 and taking into a slot 108 ina projection 109 depending from said arm, said lever' being operated byan adjustable connecting rod 110, one forked end of which straddles theshaft 32 and carries a cam roll which moves within a face cam groove cutin the gear 31.

Means are provided for regulating contact of the soldering iron 105 withthe covers 52, as may be seen by reference to Fig. 6. A screw 111 backsagainst a ball 112 which is located in' a socket in a suitable framepart vas a bearingbeneath the arm 99, and adjustment of this screwcontrols the contact position' of the soldering iron 105.. Duringmovement of the conveyor 17, the soldering mechanism is raised toclearance position, indicated by dotted lines in Fig, 12, by a lifterarm120 secured to and operated by the rocker shaft 65. The contactbetween the soldering iron 105 and the cover 52, or the arm 99 and thelifter arm 120, is maintained by a spring 121 connecting at one end tothe arm 99 and at the other to a down- .wardly projecting arm 122integral with a lever 113. Y

I have also rovided manual means for lifting the so der mechanismcompletely away from its operative position, which may become necessary,in casev a cover becomes jammed or to permit repairs orv inspection ofsaid mechanism. `The hand lever 113 isfulcrumed onto the stud 101 andhas side projections 114, which loosely embrace the solderng iron arm99. A spring gri l 115 is attached to this lever and has a latc pin 116projecting downwardly therefrom and adapted to en age notches 117 in auadrant 118' fixed on t e frame bracket 98, t e angle of the raised armbeing regulated by engaging the latch -pin 116 in the ,appropriatenotch.

' The Amechanism whereby solder is supplied to the soldering iron 105 issupported crumed o'n a stud 134 secured in a lug 135,

which is integral with the pedestal su port 124. A ratchet 136 is faston the sha 125 at the end opposite the gear 126 and is actuated by apawl 137 secured to andl operated by a bell crank rocking lever .138.This lever is attached by an adjustable connection 139--to a connectingrod' 141. -This rod connects at 142 with a lever 143 (Fig. l) which I isoperated to move the bell Vcrank rocking lever 138 in one direction by acam 144 in the cam member 80, and to move it in the other direction b -asprin 145. The movement of the ratc et 136, t us accomplished,

`drives the gears 126 and 128 and o crates the feed rolls 127 and '131.`Wire sol r 146 is fed to these rolls from a reel, not shown, through aguide tube 147 and the `pressure thereon, between the feed rolls, is'controlled by adjustment" of the weight 133.

Another vguide tube 148, secured in a bracket 149, directs the solderWire to thev face of the Soldering iron 105 which melts and ap lies it.

The nal operation consists in folding the free end of the lip 55 to thehooked position shown in Fig. 14, and in this connection, attention isdirected to Figs. 8 and 13. As `the covers'are moved lalong the conveyor17 after the soldering operation, their lip ends are carried up aninclined guide 151 attached to the rail 15, the opposite ends beingengaged in a groove 152 in a stop 153 secured to angle brackets 154which are attached to the rail 16. The guide 59 is cut away suiicientlyto permit the cover to rise upon the inclined guide 151 which, at itshighest point, is cut to provide space for a foldin jnger 155. Abovethis point and att-ache to the guide 59 is a retaining folded. Thefolding is accomplished by the finger 155, which is pivot'ally securedby a pin 157 to an operating lever 158, and is held by a spring 159against a stop screw 161. The lever 158 is fulcrumed on a stud 162mounted in the bracket 73 and is connected by a link 164 and anadjustable connection 165 with a forked member 166 which straddles theshaft 32 and carries a cam roll, which rides in a face cam groove in thecam member 80, thus giving intermittent movement to the folding finger155. After completion of this operation, the covers are moved dovvn theinclined guide 151 and are passed by the conveyor 17 to a point Wherethey are dropped off the delivery end of the machine, either to a stackor a conveyor, as desired.

It is evident that the machine as described has thel distinct advantageof greatly increasing the output of covers per operator, as Well asproducing a neat package with key lip accurately positioned.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantagesWill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim 1. A machine for applying solder to metalA conveyor.

2. A. machine for soldering met-al articles having parts which requireto be positioned relative to eachother, comprising a frame, a conveyormoved thereon, and a mechanism for'accurately positioning the parts ofsaid articles and means for thereafter applying solder thereto andarticle bending and uniting means operating in connection with themovement of said conveyor.

3. A solde-ring machine comprisin means for feeding articles to beoperate upon, means for accurately assembling the parts of said articlesto be soldered, and a mechanism for applying properly proportionedquantities of flux and solder and for shaping and delivering saidarticles as desired.

4. A soldering machine comprising 'an intermittently moving conveyorbringing articles successively into position to have solder appliedthereto, and intermittently acting means for accurately positionin theparts of said articles to be soldere totermittently actuating saidlever.

means for bending said lips to the position desired and for deliveringthe assembledv articles from the machine.

6. In a machine for soldering key lips to covers for sardine cans andthe like, an assembling mechanism comprising a lever, a contact platemovably secured thereon, and adapted to move said lips to accurateposition to be soldered, and a rocker shaft in- 7. ln a machine forsoldering key lips to covers for sardine cans and the like, anassembling mechanism comprisingr a lever, a contact plate movablysecured thereon, and adapted to move said lips to accurate position tobe soldered, a rocker shaft intermittently actuating said lever, and anintermittently acting hammer for flattening said covers and lipstogether.

8. In a machine for soldering key lips to covers for sardine cans andthe like, a mechanism for feeding iiux in measured quantities to thesurface to which solder is to be applied, said mechanism' comprising anelevated drip cup and tube through which said ilux is fed, a. funnelreceiving the flux, ab-

sorbent material in said funnel adapted to' be pressed against and todeposit flux on the surface to be soldered, and an intermittentlyoperated rocker arm to which said funnel is adjustably secured.

9. In a machine for soldering key lips to covers for sardine cans andthe like, a mechanism for applying solder to said articles, saidmechanism comprising a combustion chamber, a soldering iron forming oneside of said chamber, means for measurably feeding solder endwise tosaid iron against the side thereof, and automatic means forintermittently bringing said iron into contacting position and foroscillating it While such contact is maintained.

10. ln a machine for soldering lips to can ends, the combination ofmeans for conveying said can ends intermittently, mechanism operating onsaid can ends and lips, and comprising a positioning device whichositions the lip accurately on the cover, a ammer for tightly unitingthe lip With the cover, means applying flux to the lip and cover,soldering devices for soldering the li to the cover2 means for bendingthe end of) the lip after said soldering, drivlng mechinea-iai `desiredposition, said `means comprsmg ing guiding members directing-the coversto an operating posit1on, and intermittently acting operatingI memberscomprising an adjustable folder linger, a lever to which said iinger .issecured, and arm and rocker members actuating said lever and finger tohold the lips. j

12; in a machine for soldering lips to can end-s, the combination ofmeans for conveying said can ends intermittently, mechanism operating onsaid can ends and lips, and comprising a positioning vdevice whichpositions the lip accurately on the cover, a hammer for tightlyunitingthe lip 'with the cover, means applying'iiux `to the lip andcover, soldering devices for soldering the lip to the cover, means forbending lthe end of the lip lafter said soldering, and

driving mechanism for the above elements.

13. ln a soldering machine, a solder applying member normally held inoperative position, and manual means for lifting said member 'from itssupport or Work to permit repairs or inspection, said means comprisingan arm upon which said member is carried, a hand lever adapted tooperate said arm, a spring grip on said lever, a latch pin lips,

secured to said spring gri ,and a quadrant adapted to engage said atchpin to hold said solder applying member at a desired angle.

is. A machine :for soldering key lips to covers for sardine cans and thelike, comprising, in combination, means for accurately assembling saidcoversand lips preparatory to soldering, means for measurably vfeedingilnx and solderior use upon said assembled articles', means for applyingsolder thereto, and

means for bending said lips to desired poeition, all said means beingautomatic and intermittent 1n action.

l5. ln a machine for soldering lips to can ends, the combination of alink conveyer for conveying said can ends intemnittently, mechanismoperating on said can ends and and comprising a positioning device whichpositions the lip accurately on the cover, a hammer for tightly unitingthe lip with the cover, means applying flux to the lip and coversoldering devices for soldering the lip lto the cover, means *forbending` the end ofthe lip after said soldering, driving mechanism forthe above elements,'and automatic means 'for disconnecting s'aidoonveyer from the driving mechanism when a cover on the conveying meansobstructs the movement of the same.

16. Ina machine for soldering key lips to covers for sardine cans andthelike, the combination of means for soldering said lips in place andmeans for bendin them to desired permanent configuration a apted topermit ready en :1 ment by a key for open-

